If you’ve been curious about Linux but fearful of installing the open-source OS on a laptop, then Ubuntu 7.10 will eliminate all excuses. This graphical and very friendly version of the OS is free, looks and plays very much like Mac/Windows, and runs a surprisingly vast array of programs from the open-source community.

Easy to Install
After downloading Ubuntu, tire kickers can create a bootable CD to load the OS without installing it, but the built-in installation routines can also use a free partition to make a dual-boot Windows/Ubuntu system. Much of the user interface resembles Mac’s OS X: The file navigation system uses a familiar tree structure, and we love the Bookmark feature that embeds the same shortcuts into every file explorer window.

Ubuntu Apps Aplenty
OpenOffice is compatible with most Microsoft Office files, and the Evolution e-mail client looks and feels like an early version of Outlook—very useful with little clutter. Open-source multimedia editors and CD rippers abound, and they worked well without ever crashing the OS

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